To survive, councils need more money. But council tax is broken | Luke Murphy
"The most boring and complicated subject in all of public life," declared William Waldegrave, former minister and an architect of the fateful poll tax, when speaking of local government finance. But this is misleading: the consequences of local government austerity are anything but boring for those on the lowest incomes. The design of the council tax system - and recent reforms to it - hits the poorest hardest. Here's why.
Since 2010, the central government grant to local government has been cut by almost 60%. This has had a devastating impact on local public services with spending falling in real terms by nearly one-fifth (excluding education and public health) since the start of the decade. So it's little surprise that council taxpayers in England face substantial increases in their bills, with nearly all councils set to increase them this April.
Related: Why is the tax on a London mansion a tiny fraction of that in New York? | Simon Jenkins
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